Chapter 8 - The Shadow from the Past
"Who is this?" I demanded, keeping my voice low and controlled so as not to disturb Nora, who was sleeping peacefully a few feet away.
"A mutual acquaintance, Commander," the voice replied smoothly. "You spent nineteen years hiding behind a suburban mortgage, a security consulting gig, and a quiet life in a city you thought was off the grid. You thought Task Force Vanguard was buried deep enough that no one would ever dig up the bones."
"If you have something to say, say it," I snapped, my eyes narrowing as I stood up from the chair and walked over to the hospital window, looking down at the street below.
"We aren't enemies, David," the voice continued, sounding entirely too relaxed for someone speaking to a former black-ops commander. "In fact, we watched your little digital blitz against the Kensington and Caldwell families with profound admiration. You destroyed four corrupt dynasties in under twelve hours without firing a single bullet. That’s classic Vanguard signature work."
"Get to the point," I warned, my hand instinctively resting on the edge of the window sill.
"The point is simple," the voice said, dropping the pleasant tone for something sharp and dangerous. "When you reactivated your secure challenge coin frequency last night, you didn't just wake up Major Bishop. You pinged a global network that has been dormant for two decades. And certain agencies—agencies that lost track of you nineteen years ago when you went rogue to protect your family—have just received a very interesting location ping."
My blood ran cold. Nineteen years ago, when I walked away from the black-ops world to raise Nora after her mother passed away, I had cut every tie, burned every dossier, and vanished into the civilian world. I had known the risk of making that emergency call to Bishop, but I had chosen my daughter over my own safety.
"They're coming," I stated flatly.
"They're already looking," the voice replied. "And unlike the local police or corrupt banking magnates, they don't use warrants. If you stay in this city, David, within forty-eight hours they will tear this hospital apart to find out how the Phantom Commander managed to mobilize an encrypted global strike team from a bedside table."
The line clicked dead with a sharp, robotic tone.
May you like
I stood motionless by the window, the morning sun suddenly feeling heavy and suffocating. I had won the battle for my daughter's safety against the local elite, but in doing so, I had rung a bell that could never be un-rung. The ghosts of my past life had caught up to us.
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